Ah, Tower City. Back in the day the shops at Tower City were a beautiful urban oasis, a throwback of sorts to the heyday of downtown shopping in Cleveland. Slowly, that momentum and sheen wore off as tenants left and what at one time was a full mall turned into a hodgepodge of dollar stores and calendar shops with few notable names otherwise. Brooks Brothers, of course, is still there, representing the high end, and you can buy sneakers at Foot Locker or jewelry at Claire’s like many other malls, but when even McDonald’s packs up and leaves the food court, you know things have gone downhill. It’s a far cry from when the Avenue opened in 1990 (it wasn’t all that long ago) with big-name tenants like Barney’s, Versace and Gucci. (Seriously!)
That should change.
Dan Gilbert, through Bedrock Real Estate Services, has bought the Avenue portion of Tower City from Forest City for $56.5 million. Which makes total sense. Activating the mall is in the best interest for Gilbert, with his casino across the street and his arena just a few blocks away, which of course is connected to the mall with the walkway that tens of thousands of fans use to get to games and events after parking at Tower City.
Gilbert is also probably best positioned to lead the revamp. In Detroit, Gilbert’s acquired and energized huge swaths of the city with new businesses, apartments, restaurants and bars.
Tower City could use some of that action.
“The Avenue Shops provide us with a unique opportunity to build upon the connectivity to our other downtown investments and create a one-of-a-kind urban shopping, dining and entertainment destination that will make all Clevelanders proud,” Gilbert said in a release this morning.
In a release from Forest City, CEO David LaRue said, “Tower City Center was one of Forest City’s first major urban, mixed-use redevelopment projects and still stands today as an example of the power of transformational real estate to improve and energize the urban environment.”
An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Rock Gaming as Gilbert’s purchasing firm. He purchased the properties through Bedrock Real Estate Services.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2016.
THANK GOD. I don’t see Gilbert as the one and only savior like some do, but Forest City is HORRIBLE. Beyond just the awful shops (and lack of shops) they have totally neglected the property. Take a close look and you’ll see plenty of things that your typical Lakewood homeowner would receive violation letters and fines for.
It’s about time someone re-revitalizes this space.
You forgot to note that Gilbert’s company also owns the Ritz-Carlton.
This is probably the best possible solution for Tower City’s woes.
Frankly, for people who work in the office towers (like me), A Dollar is probably the most useful store in the mall. In a pinch and need office supplies, paper products, cold medicine, etc? A Dollar’s got your back! Glad to see the beginnings of change, but please don’t close our beloved dollar store.
Forest City was a garbage developer that has a notorious reputation for bilking cash-strapped cities for tax abatements and subsidies leaving behind nothing but vacant lots and urban blight. I hope Danny Gilbert rides them out of town on a rail.
don’t close lids, the hat shop
If anything give lids a new space like in any other mall a little bit bigger than that kiosk lol
This is good, he bought the ritz from forest city and then actually bought the higbee building from them so he could forfeit the federal tax savings and modify the building by attaching the walkway to the garage and now this. He does put his money where his mouth is even though phase 2 of the casino might not be in the future. Maybe some high end stores might return but it is hard when half your stuff gets stolen.
I personally would like to see the old Christmas decorations brought back, the mall always looked so bare after they stopped putting them up.
We will see the huge Securitas presence in CLE like they have in Detroit
The Dollar Store is one of the many big problems with Tower City and its decline. While it may be convenient for some office products, Dollar stores bring in dollar customers.
gilbert haves a vision if he didn’t with forest city he would not have spent all that money. Forest city need a change like public square is its something missing in tower city its a goast town unless its a game or holidays other than that its like every other mall.
Tower City was created at the zenith of Sam Miller’s incredible political clout inside Cleveland City Hall….and with no regard for the existing businesses along Euclid Avenue.
UGH…just like Parmatown –
“On July 6, 2011 the Parmatown’s lender filed for receivership due to loan service default from RMS Enterprises, a venture formed by the founding Ratner, Miller, and Shafran families of Forest City Enterprises Inc.”
YEP – The same people responsible for Parmatown becoming what it did.
Thank you Forest City/Ratner family for neglecting your properties and moving on to bigger ventures.
For years they pulled money out of the venture, and then defaulted and sold Parmatown.
Seems to me they are more interested in projects outside of Cleveland and let those they have here go to pot.
ummm what casino across the street lolz when was the last time this writer been downtown the casino is IN tower city dumbass